In conventional blow molding machines, a tube of soft plastic is pinched off at the bottom by the closing action of a two-part mold, and compressed air or the like is introduced at the top to inflate the tube to fill the mold cavity. In this way, plastic bottles of various, and unusual configurations can be produced at a rapid rate. However, a tab of plastic that is formed when the tube is pinched together at the bottom must be removed prior to completion of the process. Conventionally, a pair of gripping jaws grip the depending tab and pull it to free it from the bottom of the molded bottle and then pivot to drop it. This complex motion, which is repeated at a rapid rate over long production runs, often results in excessive wear on bearings and requires considerable lubrication. The lubrication, itself, created problems in that oil and grease frequently spotted the plastic bottles being produced. The problem was previously resolved to some extent by the detabbing device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,063 but there is still required a camming end pivoting action to separate the tab-pulling jaws and eject the tab.